Tuesday, March 4, 2008

I wanted to make a cupcake that tasted very peachy with a cream cheese frosting. I looked online & most of the recipes I found called for just putting slices of peaches in the cupcake but I wanted the batter to be peach flavored so I made a puree of peaches & added that to the batter (using less milk than I normally would). The cupcakes had nice flecks of peach throughout them but the peach flavor was VERY subtle. These cupcakes were yummy & moist but just not peachy enough. Next time I think I'll either add a little Peach Schnapps or make more peach puree & cook it down a little to intensify the flavor. Anyone have any other ideas? (*see below for an update)

With a hand mixer beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy & smooth. Add the butter & beat until combined. Mix in vanilla. Add the sugar half at a time mixing until well blended.

(* So I tried my hand at a second batch of these. This time I used 1/2 cup of peaches & about 2 T peach schnapps & reduced that on the stove until it was 1/4 cup. Then I replaced the vanilla in the recipe with Peach Schnapps. Still there was no peach flavor to the cupcakes at all! Think I'll set this idea aside for awhile.)

Looks and sounds good to me! I am so looking forward to the peach and nectarine season! Frozen is ok but not common over here (as well as frozen corn) and the canned ones have always too much sugar for my taste. You could try with peach flavored buttermilk or yoghurt…Do you really heat your oven for only four cupcakes? I make at least 16 (two trays) and freeze some – so over time we get a good variety to choose from spontaneously. We eat them without frosting anyway so that’s no problem.

Mark - I was thinking the same thing though I hate to buy preserves for just a little in a cupcake (we aren't big jam eaters) so I'm wondering if cooking down the puree a bit will give me the same effect.